Court File and Parties

Court File No.: 17-681 Date: September 27, 2018

Superior Court of Justice - Ontario

Re: Davidson v Davidson Between: Anthony Davidson, Applicant and Heather Davidson, Respondent

Before: Honourable Mr Justice Martin James

Counsel: Thomas R. Hunter for the Applicant Duncan Crosby for the Respondent

Date Heard: Written Submissions

Costs Endorsement

James J

[1] This is a costs endorsement arising from an interim motion for the return of children to the locality where they previously resided in circumstances where their mother, the respondent, moved from Eganville to Ottawa with the children over the objections of their father, the applicant.

[2] The respondent also brought a motion for custody, access, relocation, child support and disclosure.

[3] The applicant was successful on the relocation and shared parenting issues. Some financial disclosure was ordered against the applicant whose disclosure had been incomplete. Overall, the applicant was substantially successful.

[4] The applicant presented a bill of costs for $41,603.67 on a full indemnity basis and $31,296.52 on a substantial indemnity basis.

[5] I encouraged the parties to explore settlement possibilities while my decision was on reserve. During that time the applicant made a good offer to settle. While it does not trigger the automatic costs consequences of the family law rules, the reasonableness of same deserves to be reflected in the disposition of costs.

[6] The hourly rate of counsel for the applicant is reasonable. The total time spent on the motion is very high but the applicant’s materials were well-prepared and helpful to the court.

[7] The respondent is not employed and receives public assistance. The likelihood of her actually being able to pay a substantial costs order at this time and into the foreseeable future is very low.

[8] A costs order against an opposing party should not simply be the result of applying a mathematical formula reflecting an hourly rate and the hours spent on a particular matter. It ought to bear some resemblance to an amount the party exposed to the costs order could reasonably have expected to incur.

[9] This was a half day motion for a temporary order. Costs payable by an opposing party on such motions seldom exceed $10,000 and are usually considerably less than this amount.

[10] In the circumstances, costs are awarded to the applicant fixed in the sum of $14,000, inclusive of taxes and disbursements, payable by the respondent within 90 days.

James, J. Date: September 27, 2018